Oxiana managing director Owen Hegarty said the rationale for the
deal, which had been in the pipeline for some time but pulled
together over the last few days, was that it simplified the
arrangement at Prominent Hill.

"There's no longer a joint venture," Mr Hegarty said.

"Oxiana will have 100 per cent (of Prominent Hill) and therefore
access to 100 per cent cent of the cash flow and earnings. At our
conceptual plans of 100,000 tonnes of copper and 100,000 ounces of
gold (a year), you can imagine the cash flows on today's
prices."

He said the timing of the deal was perfect given the current
strong commodities prices.

Mr Hegarty said that, in a best-case scenario, production at
Prominent Hill would begin in the first quarter of 2008, based on a
pre-feasibility study that is to be completed by mid-2005.

The project would cost $300-$400 million based on a 7-7.5
million tonnes a year mining operation. "We would also look at
variations on that on the upside, which would cost a bit more," he
said.

He said the management and financing were well within Oxiana's
capabilities.

Minotaur's non-Prominent Hill assets will be spun off into a new company, Minotaur Exploration.